Several Rapid City Council members believe new rules are needed to govern instant messaging and e-mails during council meetings.

Council president Malcom Chapman said he has seen other council members use the technology to ask people to vote a certain way or ask for a second on a motion during council meetings.

He is also concerned about group e-mails sent to the council, which could in essence allow policy to be set online.

"That, to me, violates the spirit of open meetings," Chapman said. "That's what's taking place sometimes. Asking for votes. Asking for seconds."

Alderman Ron Weifenbach said instant messaging and e-mailing during council meetings creates discussions hidden from the public.

Weifenbach said electronic communication either must stop, or the content of the messages should be displayed on a video screen so everyone can see what is being discussed.

"If there's some reason we can't share these with colleagues on the dais or with the public, I'd like to know why," he said.

Alderman Bob Hurlbut disagreed that instant messaging is being abused. Hurlbut said he uses it sparingly, mainly to ask a question or get clarification from another member instead of walking to the other end of the dais and whispering in their ear.

Hurlbut said the messages are a quick method of communication, not a "mass proliferation" of "behind-the-scenes" discussion.

"I've never sent one to more than one councilman, and I've never received one from more than one councilman. There's no such thing as a quorum of instant messaging going on," Hurlbut said.

Alderman Bill Okrepkie said he has mixed feelings about the issue. Although the possibility of back room deals is a valid argument, Okrepkie worries that rules covering communication between individual council members could go too far if it prohibits two members from being in the same room together.

Okrepkie said he is concerned about creating rules barring two or three council members from having lunch or coffee together and exchanging ideas about policy issues.

"What's the next step? We're supposed to be a policy-making body. How do you get anything done?" he said.

The council asked city attorney Jason Green to draft a policy for the appropriate use of computers and electronic communications. Green said last week he would research existing law on the issue and see how other communities have dealt with it, which he expected would be "all over the place."

Alderwoman Karen Gundersen Olson said if instant messaging does not violate the letter of the open meetings law, it does violate its spirit because it could allow a majority to decide an issue without any public dialog.

Although members can lean over to talk to a neighbor, go into the hall for a conversation or pass notes in person, instant messaging increases the possibility of creating a quorum, Gundersen Olson said, because of its speed and its accessibility to everyone at virtually the same time.

She also said the council has an obligation to constituents to make conversations public.

"If we really are dedicated to public meetings and the spirit of public meetings, I think instant messaging and any other technology that would allow similar capability are inappropriate," she said.

Mayor Alan Hanks believes the council should set a policy and agreed the technology could potentially be abused by allowing behind-the-scenes conversations without the knowledge of the public, who attend meetings to listen to elected officials discuss issues.

Hanks said he isn't interested in pointing fingers, but he is aware of electronic messages being exchanged and shares the concerns of council members. He said a policy would help ensure the council is fully transparent and that conversations are made on the public record.

"If a question needs to be asked between elected officials at an official meeting, it can just as easily be asked in public through the chair," he said. "I think it's inappropriate to use instant messaging during an open public meeting."

Contact Scott Aust at 394-8415 or scott.aust@rapidcityjournal.com